Combination lock



Jan. 28, 1936. MILLS 2,029,080

COMBINATION LOCK Filed April 26, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet l Figl.

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COMBINATION LOCK Filed April 26, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.8.

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COMBINATION LOCK Filed April 26, 1934 5 Sheets- Sheet 3 c d \nvenToT s 28 George EMiHs i atented Jan. 28, I936 i'i'E YATES- PATENT flFhiE 7 Claims.

While the lock is adapted for general purposes, I

yet it is especially useful as a lock for doors of automobiles.

The features wherein the invention resides will be more fully hereinafter set forth and then pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Fig. l is a fragmentary sectional View showing my improved lock as applied to a door;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on the line 22, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33, Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 6-4, Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the hub on the shaft which carries the arm 1;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the toothed slide;

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary sectional view through the slide showing the manner in which it is operated;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one of the buttons;

Fig. 9 is a perspective View of one of the push pins;

Fig. 10 is a section on the line iii-13, Fig. 3.

I have chosen herein to show my invention as it would be applied for looking a door and in the drawings is a portion of the door and 2 a por tion of the door frame. The door is provided with the usual spring-pressed latch bolt 3 which is adapted to engage in a keeper (not shown) carried by the door frame 2 and in the construction herein shown the door is provided on each side with a handle or knob by which the latch bolt can be operated when the door is unlocked. The knob or handle on one side of the door is indicated at i and that on the other side of the door is indicated at 5. The knob or handle i is secured to a shaft 6 which is suitably journalled in the door and which has fast thereon an arm '3 adapted to engage a pin 8 carried by the latch bolt 3. The arm 7 is acted on by a spring 9 which tends normally to hold it in its inoperative position shown in Fig. 3 against a stop Hi. When the handle 3 is turned in a direction to give the shaft 6 a clockwise rotation in Fig. 3, the finger i will by its engagement with the pin '8 serve to move the latch bolt 3 to the right in Fig. 3 thereby withdrawing it from the keeper.

The handle or knot 5 is carried by a shaft H similar to the shaft 6 but situated on the opposite side of the latch bolt 3 from said shaft 6, and which is also provided with an arm 1? similar to the arm '5 that is adapted to engage a pin i3 carried by the latch bolt 3 so that when the shaft I i is given a counter-clockwise movement in Fig. '3, the arm i2 will engage the pin l3 and thus withdraw the latch bolt 3 from the keeper, thereby allowing the door to be opened.

The shaft I l is acted on by a return spring M which normally holds the arm i2 against the stop I'5.

i6 is a spring acting against the latch bolt 3 and tending normally to throw it into its projected operative position shown in Fig. 3.

The handles or knobs i and 5 are independently operable.

The parts thus far described may have'the construction commonly found in doors and form no part of my present invention, which relates to a novel combination lock constructed to lock one of the door handles or knobs (the handle 4 in the present embodiment of the invention) from being operated by an unauthorized person, while leaving the other handle free to be operated.

This lock comprises a locking member ll pivotally mounted on a rod or shaft l8 carried by the housing l9 which encloses the latch bolt 3, the arms I and i2 and the parts of the combination lock to be presently described. This housing is set into the door i in any approved way.

The locking member ll is formed with a slot 10 through which the shaft 6 extends and said shaft has fast thereon a collar 22 provided with a fiatsided portion 25, the flat faces 20 of which fit between the opposite sides of the slot when the locking member is in its operative or full line position Fig. 2. In the construction herein shown the arm I is rigid with the collar 22. So long as the locking member I? is in its operative position shown in Fig. 2 with the sides of the slot engaging the fiat faces 2d of the flat-sided portion 2! of the collar'22, said shaft 6 will be locked from turning and thus the handle 4 cannot be operated to open the door.

The locking member 5? can be swung upwardly about the rod l3 as shown by the dotted lines Fig. 2 and when it is in its raised position it is carried above the fiat-sided portion 2| of the collar 22 thereby releasing the shaft 6 so that it can be turned by manipulating the handle '4.

The combination lock herein described is constructed so that when it is correctly manipulated, it will raise the locking member ll and thus reclined faces with some of the inclined faces inclining in one direction and some in the opposite direction, a plurality of push pins, each of which when depressed is adapted to move the slide either forward or backward one step, and means whereby when the slide has been moved forward a predetermined number of steps it will operate to raise the locking member ll.

The construction is such that in order to give the slide its requisite number of forward steps it is necessary to depress the push pins in a predetermined sequence. If any push pin is depressed out of its correct order it will operate to shift the slide in a reverse direction thereby preventing the release of the locking member. In order to open the lock, therefore, it is necessary to know the combination or, in other words, to know the exact order in which the various push pins must be depressed.

The toothed slide above referred to is indicated at 23 and is herein shown as having a channel shape with the upstanding ribs 24, 25, each of which is formed with a plurality of teeth 26. Each tooth has an inclined face and some of the teeth are specially constructed and are designated 23a, 26b, 260.2601, 26c, these being the operative teeth.

The slide is adapted for sliding movement in p the housing l9 and is retained and guided in its sliding movement by two hold-down and guiding members 21, 28 which are secured to the bottom of the housing l9 and are spaced therefrom by spacers 29. .These'hold-down members are situated between the flanges 24, of the slide 23 and maintain said slide in position while permitting it to have its slidng movement in the housing I9. I

(Jo-operating with the teeth of the slide 23 are a plurality of push pins 30, some of which are I the operative or working push pins that constitute the combination and are designated 3311,3617, 36c and Std. Said push. pins are so constructed that as any push pin is depressed it will engage oneof the teeth and advance the slide 23 one step either forwardly or backwardly. The operative or working push pins 30a, 30b, 30c and 38d are constructed so that when they are de-[ 77 'Each push pin is acted on by a spring 34 which is confined between the two plates 3|, 32 and which normally holds the push pin in its elevated position with its lower end 33 out of engagement with the teeth 26. Each spring 34 is shown as a conical spring and the upper turn 35 thereof fits into agroove 36 formed inthe corresponding pin 30. This provides the necessary connection between the spring and the pin so that the spring will be compressed when the pin is. de-

. pressed, and said upper turn 35 by its engagemerit with the upper plate 32, serves as a stop to limit the spring-impelledmovement of the pin.

' In the construction shown in the drawings the aozaos'c lease the shaft 6. This combination lock comprises a toothed slide. the teeth of which have inpredetermined or correct order in which the working push pins should be depressed in order to release the lock is as follows, 33a. 30b, 30c, 33d, 3%, and as stated above when the push pins are depressed in this order the slide 23 will be advanced forwardly one step at the depression of each push pin and when the push pin 3% has been depressed the second time then the slide 23 will have been given its full forward movement to the right in Fig. 2 and will operate to 'raise the locking member H and thus release the shaft 3. a

The parts are shown in Fig. 2 in their locked position and in order to release the lock it is necessary to depress the operative or working push pins in the order above set forth. The de pression of the push pin 330'. causes it to act on the inclined face 40 of the tooth 26a thereby advancing the slide 23 one step. This'brings the tooth 26b into the dotted line position Fig. 2 so that when the push button 3% is depressed it will act on the face ll of the tooth ftb 'and advance the slide 23 another step forward. At the end of this second step forward the tooth 230 is in the. position shown in Fig. '7 so that when the push pin'33c is depressed it will engage the face 32 of said tooth and advance the slide a third step forward. This third forward step; will bring the tooth 26d into the dotted line position Fig. 7

so that when thepush'pin 330! is depressed it will engage the face 44 of said tooth 26d and will give the slide a fourth forward step. This will bring the tooth 236 into position so that when the push pin 3% is depressed a second time said pin will engage the face. 45 of the tooth 26c and will give the slide its fifth step forward.

The slide has a projection 36 which at the end of the fourth forward step thereof is brought into engagement with the up-turned end il of a lock actuator 33 in the form of a strip which is slidably supported in the housing; This lock actuator has at its left hand end an up-turned finger 49 adapted to engage the inclined face of a finger 53 depending from the locking member .il'. The fifth forward step of the slide 23 operates through the projection 56 and finger 41 to move the lock actuator @8 forward from the full to the dotted line position Fig. 2, during which movement the finger 49 co-operates with the inclined face of the finger 53 and raises the locking member H as shown in dotted lines therebyreleasing the shaft 6 so that the bolt can be thrown by turning the handle 4.

The slide 23 carries a spring-pressed detent 5| having a tooth 52 which co-operates with notches 53 formed on a plate 54 that is fast to the housing. The notches 53 are spaced apart a distance equal to each forward step of the slide and as the slide is moved forward step by step the tooth 52 will pass from one notch to the next and by this means the slide will be yieldingly held in .urges it toward the plate 54.

After the slide. 23 has been stepped forward the five times necessary to release the lock then said slide can be reset into its normal position.

"shown in Fig. 2 by simply depressing some of the non-operative pins 30 the requisite number .of

times. Each time a non-operative pin 36 is de" pressed it co-operates with one of the. non-op erative teeth 26 and moves the slide backward one step. The backward movement of the slide is limited by the engagement of the left hand end thereof with the spacers 29 which co-operate with the hold-down fingers 28.

It will be noted that the slide is formed with spaces to where a tooth 26 has been omitted. The purpose of this is to prevent the resetting of the slide by repeatedly depressing the same non-operative pin 30, and to make it necessary to operate two or more of said non-operative pins, or a non-operative pin and an operative pin out of its regular order, in order to restore the slide to the position shown in Fig. 2. This makes it extremely diificult for one who does not know the combination to acquire any knowledge thereof by the resetting operation or by manipulating the pins.

In order to provide added security I have provided herein buttons which are separate from the push pins and by which they may be actuated. These buttons are indicated at 56 and each button projects through a plate 51 which is attached to the outside of the door. Each button is formed with a flange 58 which engages the under side of the plate and holds the buttons in place. The buttons corresponding to the operative push pins are designated 56a, 56b, Etc and 56d. These buttons rest against the ends of the push pins so that when any button is depressed the corresponding push pin will be depressed.

The slide 23 is also provided with a resetting projection 59 which projects through to the inside of the door so that the door can be locked or unlocked from the inside by simply moving the slide through the medium of the resetting projection 59. This projection extends through a suitable slot 69 formed through the inner wall 69 of the door.

In order to hold the push pins 30 from turning and to maintain the lower ends 33 properly positioned for acting on the teeth 26, the upper end of each pin is slotted as shown at 63 and a positioning wire 62 extends through the slots in each row of pins, the ends of said wire being anchored to the plate Si by solder or in any other suitable way.

In the present embodiment of the invention the push pins 39 are shown arranged in two rows, one row for each of the flanges 24, 25, but this arrangement is not essential and may, therefore, be varied without departing from the invention.

The plate 5'1 through which the buttons 56 extend has pins 66 secured thereto which extend through the door and which have nuts 65 screw threaded thereto.

The plate 31 is shown as having side flanges 'H at its sides on which the plate 32 rests, said flanges serving to properly space these plates. These two plates 3! and 32 are secured to the housing l9 by bolts 81 and spacers 68 surrounding the bolts serve to position the plate 3| properly above the bottom of the housing l9.

While I have herein illustrated a construction in which the combination includes five operative teeth and. four operative push pins, yet it will be understood that the number of operative teeth or operative push pins in the combination may be varied without departing from the invention.

The combination can be changed by simply removing the slide 23 and substituting another slide having a different arrangement of teeth.

When the lock is used for an automobile door lock, the handle 4 will be on the outside of the door and the handle 5 will be on the inside, and the door can be locked from the inside of the automobile by simply manipulating the projection 59. Moreover, the door can always be opened from the inside by operating the handle 5 since this handle can be actuated to withdraw the latch bolt 3 even though the handle 4 is locked.

While in order to give an understanding of my invention I have illustrated a selected embodiment thereof I wish to state that the constructional features can be varied in many ways without departing from the invention.

I claim:

1. A look comprising a bolt-operating member, a locking member for locking the same from operation, a toothed slide, some of the teeth of which have faces inclined in one direction while other teeth have faces inclined in the opposite direction, a plurality of push pins adapted when depressed to engage said teeth and move the slide, said teeth having such relation to the push pins that when the pins are depressed in a predetermined order each pin will advance the slide forwardly one step in the same direction, while if any pin is depressed out of the predetermined order the slide will be given a reverse movement, means to release the locking member when the slide has been given a predetermined number of forward steps, and means co-operating with said slide to restrain movement thereof at the end of each forward step.

2. A look comprising a bolt-operating member, a locking member for locking the same from operation, a toothed slide, some of the teeth of which have faces inclined in one direction while other teeth have faces inclined in the opposite direction, a plurality of push pins adapted when depressed to engage said teeth and move the slide, said teeth having such relation to the push pins that when the pins are depressed in a predetermined order each pin will advance the slide forwardly one step in the same direction, while if any pin is depressed out of the predetermined order the slide will be given a reverse movement, means to release the looking member when the slide has been given a predetermined number of forward steps, and a spring detent for holding the slide yieldingly in position at the end of each forward step.

3. A look comprising a bolt-operating member, a pivoted locking member for locking the boltoperating member from movement, a toothed slide, some of the teeth of which form a group of operative teeth and the other teeth of which are non-operative teeth, a plurality of push pins, each of which when depressed, co-operates with a tooth to move the slide, said push pins being divided into a group of operative pins and a group of non-operative pins, said operative pins and operative teeth having such relation that when the operative pins are depressed in a predetermined sequence, the slide will be moved forward in the same direction while the depression of any pin out of its proper sequence gives the slide a reverse movement, a lock-releasing member, and a connection between the slide and the lockreleasing member by which the latter is actuated to release the look when the slide has been given a predetermined number of forward steps.

4. A look comprising a bolt-operating member, a locking member for locking said bolt-operating member from operation, a toothed slide, a plurality of depressible members cooperating with the teeth of the slide to advance the same, each member comprising a spring-actuated push pin which upon being depressed advances the slide one step, and a button separate from each push pin and by which the latter is depressed, and

means actuated by the slide to'releas the locking 'mernber.

pressible push pins for actuating the slide, eaeh push pin having a groove, a Spring encircling each push pin and having one turn thereof anchored in the groove, and a plate through which the push pins extend and which co-op-erate with said anchored turn of the spring to limit springimpelledmovement of the, push pin. 7

6. A look comprising a bolt-operating member, a locking member for locking the same from operation, a toothed slide, some of the teeth of which have-faces inclined in ene direction while other teethhave faces inclined in the opposite direction, a plurality of push'pins, each of which when depressedis adapted torengage a tooth and move the slide, said teethhaving such relation to the'push pins that when the pins are depressed in a predetermined order each pin will advance the slide forwardly one step in the same direction while if the same pin is depressed out of the predetermined order the slide will be given a reaoeaose verse movement, means to release the lociiing member when the slide has been givena predetermined number of forward steps, and means co- 'slide forwardly one step in the same direction while if the same pin is depressedout 'of the predetermined order the slide will be given a reverse movement, means torelease the locking member when the slide has been given a predetermined V number of forward steps, each push pin having a slot, and a positioning wire extending through the slots of 'thepush pins and preventing them from turning.

GEORGE E. MILLS.

operating with said push pins to hold them from i turning about their axes. 

